Home » Archive by Tags

Articles tagged with: fire

Photo Walkabout and Karaoke Horror

October 21, 2013 – 10:18 am
Young Girl in Legaspi

It’s 6:30 p.m., an unusual time for me to fire up the NEO, but I have been ambushed by the horror of the Philippines once more: karaoke. I don’t know how people in this country can live like this. I find the tension is like living on top of an armed nuclear weapon. You never know when the darn thing will go off. It can …

At the Barangay Captain’s House in Lawaan

October 19, 2013 – 9:58 am
My Room in Lawaan

I don’t know where these moods come from, but as I left from Guiuan, I could feel that I was irritable. Perhaps it was because I left without breakfast. I had only a cup of coffee and two buns. I thought that would be enough to get me to a town where I could have a meal. However, things just didn’t work out meal-wise, and …

A Walk to the Weather Radar Station

October 18, 2013 – 9:51 am
House Near the Weather Radar Station

I had plans to leave Guiuan yesterday, but I woke up to rain and it continued to rain off and on all day. Today, the skies are clear and blue, so the plan is to leave in an hour or two.
After I had breakfast yesterday morning (at Sanley Express Meals again), there was a break in the rain and I set off on foot to …

Second Prison Visit

October 3, 2013 – 2:06 pm
Boy Running from a Wave

My second visit to the prison began very much like the first. I showed up at 1:00 o’clock, and there was a lineup of about twenty-five women at the door, some with young children and many with bundles of food. There were far more motorcycles parked around the door and sidewalk this time, and the lineup was even more of a mess. It also seemed …

Visit to a Cockfighting Arena

September 23, 2013 – 12:08 pm
Cockfighting Arena

Mark, the fellow that runs the sari-sar store and who took me out to his farm on his motorcycle, wasn’t around for a couple of days. Yesterday morning, however, I spotted him at his store – which is at the front of his house – and we had a chance to chat some more. I got a lot of information from him about his life
Mark …

Cycling Around Biliran

August 30, 2013 – 3:35 pm
Scenery on Biliran from the Main Road

Another chorus of roosters and the eye-burning stench of cigarette smoke to greet the new day. I don’t know why, but it appears that I’ve become much more sensitive to cigarette smoke. It has actually become a big problem in the Philippines. People smoke in the hotel rooms all around me, and the smoke slowly seeps into my room. Even the smallest amount causes my …

Devoured by Mosquitoes at the Fire Station

June 5, 2013 – 1:20 pm
Firefighters - My Hosts for the Night

I had been told that after Catbalogan, the road became very hilly and difficult with long, hard climbs. That turned out to be true to a certain extent. The most difficult climb by far was the first one right out of the city. This is a common pattern. There might be a gentle grade on the roads as they climbed hills and mountains. But immediately …

A Flight to Manila & School Visits

December 8, 2012 – 10:26 am
Fire Extinguisher Practice at a School in Taipei

Saturday December 8, 2012
10:00 a.m. at the 7-11 on Chang-an Road in Taipei
It has been a busy week for me. I went to three different schools and had a ton of recording to do at work. But let’s go back to Sunday. I’m a bit tired right now. I was out until midnight last night chatting with a coworker. He got me talking about my …